Nuka-Love
by WhiteravenGreywolf
Summary: Clarke and Madi were making their way home when they stumble upon a wounded Anya. They take her back to her home base, a strange place named Nuka-World. Fallout 4 AU, Clexa fluff.
1. All Aboard

A/N: Hi guys! So this is probably going to be my last fanfiction in a while, I hope you'll enjoy it! It was supposed to be a one-shot but as usual it blew out of proportion, so I made it a two parter. I'll be posting chapter 2 later today, so don't worry. It's a Fallout AU, as mentionned, and it is deeply rooted in the Fallout 4 storyline, and Fallout lore in general so if you don't know anything about Fallout, you're probably going to undersatand only half of it. Sorry.

If you stuck around then here is a little summary of when this story is taking place: It's post main game, where the Sole Survivor sided with the Minutemen, but never discovered Nuka-World. The rest is spoiler for the story so you'll see in just a second! Like I said, you can expect the second part in just a few hours, and I hope you'll enjoy it!

* * *

 **Chapter 1**  
All Aboard

Traveling the Wasteland was not as dangerous as it had been a year ago. The newly resurrected Minutemen had done a great job with cleaning up the Commonwealth, but still, traveling as silently as possible was always a good idea, just in case. Unfortunately for Clarke, Madi always had something to say.  
"So, I was thinking..." the younger girl started after a few minutes of blissful silence.

"I'm sure you were." Clarke joked back.

The joke seemed to fly over the girl's head, as she continued.

"I get five percent of everything we sell, right?"

"That's the deal."

"And we just sold our brahmin for 250 caps. And five percent of 250 is a lot more than usual. I think now I have enough money to buy the gun Arthuro has stored on the side for me, and maybe noodles too. Cause that's what you said, if I can buy my own weapon, it's mine, right?"

Clarke nodded, an amused smile on her lips.

"That's what I said. How much do you have right now?"

Madi took the little purse tied to her belt and opened it, counting quickly and wiggling the caps around to see what was under.

"I've got 64 caps and 2 bills." she declared as she preciously stashed her purse back to its place.

"I think you'll have enough for the gun, but for the noodles..." Clarke grimaced, making Madi grimaced as well. "It's going to take a lot of smooth talking for Takahashi to give you noodles for 2 caps."

Madi pouted, which made Clarke laugh. The girl was getting a bit old for her pout and puppy eyes to work, but Clarke would have bought her noodles anyway.

"But I really have enough for the gun?" she then asked.

"Yes. 75 caps, that's what Arturo said, right?"

Madi nodded. Arturo would never part with any good weapon for less than a 150 caps, but he owed Clarke a huge favor after she'd moved a very precious weapon for him all the way to the Castle, and Madi had bartered for the better part of an hour to get him to lower his price. He'd stored a 10mn pistol on the side for her, while Madi saved every caps she could get her hands on.

"Alright! Let's go to Diamond City then!" she declared happily.

Clarke shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Madi, but we have to stop by the vault first. Diamond city will have to wait."

Madi seemed confused. She stopped dead in her track before quickly catching up with Clarke.

"But, we always go to Diamond city before going to the vault!"

"Not this time. There's been a spike of radiation in Cambridge, apparently. So unless you want to become a ghoul, we have to go around."

Madi pouted once again and let out a sigh, but she knew she had no other choice but to wait. They continued to walk in silence for a few minutes, with only the sound of their feet shuffling on the broken-down street. The sky was clear today, which was in luck because there hadn't been a radioactive storm in weeks, and Clarke was getting pretty worried. Outside was not a good place to be when a radioactive storm hit, and she hoped they would be safely back in the vault by then. She could already see Fort Hagen peaking over the horizon, which was a good sign. It meant they were almost halfway home.

"I was wondering, why did we sell our brahmin to those Sunshine guys?" Madi asked, breaking the silence once more.

"Because she was getting old. She would only slow us down now. We'll go and buy a new one soon, don't worry."

Madi was about to ask another question, when a sound echoed in the air, followed by many more. Clarke quickly stopped, and her hand came to rest on the grip of her gun. They came from their right, but they seemed to be far away from them. Gun shots. Clark listened attentively. There was a sniper, shooting every few seconds. Their shots were the loudest and more spaced out. Most of the others either used normal guns or energy guns. They could be synths still acting up on their order, even now that the Institute had been destroyed.

"What is it?" Madi asked.

Clarke shushed her quickly. They could be attacking a caravan, but what would a caravan be doing off the road?

"We have to check it out, they could be in trouble."

Before Clarke could get a hold of her, Madi began to quietly run off the road and toward the shots.

"Madi!" Clarke whisper shouted at her, but the girl didn't listen. She quickly went after her.

* * *

Madi found a well-hidden spot after maneuvering around a bunch of trees. Clarke quickly caught up with her, but she knew it was too late to drag her away. They crouched behind a large rock and watched silently. Two parties were fighting in a small ravine, near the crumbled-down overpass. One side she knew were raiders, dressed with dark leather wraparound outfits, and, strangely enough, suits with ties. They were fighting against a group of obviously well-trained and well-organized people, though it wasn't enough. Both sides were taking heavy casualties, and Clarke knew the fight would end very quickly.

Clarke was about to turn around and pull Madi with her. There was no point in getting involved with things that didn't concern them. Madi, however, refused to budge.

"Madi, come on!" Clarke whispered.

Madi easily pulled her arm free.

"We can't just leave them! They're taking care of raiders..."

Clarke sighed. She focused once again on the fight. It was now down to two raiders and one from the other side. She quickly took her hunting rifle off her shoulder and walked around the boulder, so she was still protected against the raiders. She aimed at the nearest one, and made quick work of him, hitting him in the shoulder. Her sudden involvement had distracted the other raider, just enough for the ray of an energy weapon to hit them in the chest and send them flying. Clarke waited, but when nothing else came, she placed her rifle back around her shoulder and motioned for Madi to come closer.

"Stay close, we'll do some scavenging later, alright?"

Madi nodded, and together they moved down into the ravine. Clarke had taken her pistol out of its holster, ready to use it quickly. They walked around the ravine toward the last fighter, who must have still been alive. Clarke heard them before she saw them. They were coughing, and by the sound of it, they weren't in the most pristine of conditions.

Clarke and Madi found her leaning against the side of the ravine, a hand on her belly and the other near her laser rifle. When she heard them coming closer, the hold on her weapon tightened, before it slackened a bit.

"Are you the one who shot that last raider?" she asked weakly.

Clarke approached quickly but didn't put her gun away either.

"Yes, that was me."

"I guess I owe you my life then. Or what's left of it."

Clarke kneeled beside the wounded woman. She'd been wearing an old and dirty orange uniform, with heavy armor pieces attached to it. Clarke knew she'd seen this specific outfit before, though she couldn't quite remember where. The woman was wounded, a bullet to the side of the abdomen, probably nothing too terrible if she didn't bleed out.

"Let me see."

Clarke turned around, where Madi had been standing, watching over them. She handed her her pistol.

"Stay sharp."

Madi nodded and looked around them, the pistol held in both her hands. Clarke then focused back on the woman. Her long blond hair was tied in a braid, and her dark eyes were trying to focus on her wound.

"Don't tell me you're a wandering doctor too cause my luck has its limits." she joked as she moved her hand away for Clarke to see.

Like Clarke had guessed, it wasn't too bad as long as they could stop the bleeding.

"I'm not. But I know a thing or two about healing. Extracting bullets is not my forte but I think I can manage."

"I have a stimpack in my pocket. If you can just grab it for me."

Clarke followed the woman's bloodied hand to her side and found a bunch of pockets attached to her belt. Out of the nearest one, she pulled out a stimpack.  
"It may just help you a bit but I don't think keeping a bullet in your guts is a good idea."

"If you can help me up... my camp is just above the ridge. They can take care of me there, but I don't think I can do it without you. Or that stimpack."  
Clarke pursed her lips. She'd already gotten involved far more than she would have wished. This could be a trap. She'd heard of people feigning being wounded to bring people into traps. But this time, it would have been really big. She saw her and her people killing raiders. Maybe they were an opposing faction of raiders. She couldn't be a raider, she was too well equipped. Clarke turned around. Madi was still looking out for them, holding her pistol like it was an umbrella. She really needed to train her once she got her weapon.

Without warning, she dug the needle into the woman's thigh and pressed the button. She didn't have time to complain, too relieved to feel the effect of the stimpack. Clarke threw the empty needle away and turned to Maddie.

"You're our lookout, alright?"

The girl nodded, dead serious, and Clarke positioned herself around the woman to help her up. Soon enough they were walking along the ravine and out of it, the wounded woman leaning on Clarke's shoulder while Madi walked ahead of them.

* * *

Madi was the first to see the building appearing over the hill. It looked like a small mall, at first, with two buildings in the middle of nowhere. But there was a sign linking both buildings, a large metal streamer with the words 'Nuka World' written on it. As they continued, they found giant metal bottles decorating the side of the roads. Clarke was more and more confused as they approached. Madi was more and more excited.

They walked under the metal streamer and entered a large plaza. Tents and makeshift barracks had been built there, half-hidden behind a crumbled parking lot. The camp seemed completely deserted. They hadn't even taken five steps toward the tents that Clarke realized it wasn't the case. Two snipers had been observing their approach from the top of the two main buildings, and two other people approached them quickly, only lowering their weapons when they saw the wounded woman. One of them, a dark-skinned man, quickly came to help support her on the other side. Clarke motioned for Madi to lower her weapon. They were all wearing the same uniform as the woman, and she now knew where she'd seen them before.

"Anya, are you alright?" the man asked as he pulled them toward one of the tents.

"It's just a bullet, I've seen worse."

The three of them walked through the flaps of a tent, Madi close by. They lowered Anya on a makeshift bed and she sat there, her face contorting painfully. Her hand came to rest once again on her wound. Blood had stopped flowing, thanks to the stimpack, but she still had a hole in her belly.

"Go fetch Nyko," Anya ordered.

Clarke stepped away from the conversation, taking her gun back from Madi's hands and putting it away.

"He's gone back to the park."

Anya's eyes shot open in surprise.

"What?"

"When your unit didn't come back instantly we assumed some of you must have been wounded so he went back to fetch supplies."

Anya tried to get back up as she declared:

"Then I have a train to catch!"

Quickly, both the man and Clarke moved to put her back in bed. The man first looked at Clarke with surprise, probably expecting her to be gone by then.

"You saved her life, can you do it again?"

"I'm sorry but I don't really know how to extract a bullet."

He shook his head.

"Can you go with her on the train? Back to our home base? I don't want her going alone."

"I'm fine!" Anya replied, irritated.

Clarke pursed her lips hesitantly. If she'd been alone, she may have gone, but she had Madi and any place that wasn't completely safe she would never take her daughter to.

"Is it safe?" she asked.

"Safe?" the man frowned. "It's the safest place in the Commonwealth, much safer than this outpost."

Anya intervened:

"If you're worried about your girl, we've got other kids there. Farmers, traders, all sorts of people. It's safe now, trust me."

Clarke was still hesitant, so Anya declared:

"If it's compensation you want, I'm sure Lexa can spare a few caps. Though maybe she would have paid you more if you'd brought my dead body back." Anya joked though Clarke wasn't even sure it was a joke.

After one last glance at Madi, who seemed to be waiting on Clarke's answer, the blonde nodded.

"Alright, let's take you home."

As the man helped her up, Anya declared:

"Well it's not home, but it's a start."

Clarke once again placed Anya's arm over her shoulders, and together with the man they carried her out of the tent, through the plaza and toward a brick building which kind of looked like a subway station. The words 'Nuka World Transit Center' were written in neon signs above the entrance. As they looked around, Clarke noticed that there were more metal bottles decorating the place, and Nuka-cola posters, as well as many empty broken bottle dispensers.  
They walked through the doors and climbed down a set of stairs into a clean, rubble free train station. Two other soldiers were keeping watch there, one of this platform and one on the other platform. A train was waiting, doors opened, ready to leave. They lowered Anya on one of the seats and the laid there. Madi walked into the train with an excited skip in her step. She sat next to a window and waited for the train to leave. After a final nod, the man left the train to go to the control panel. Clarke sat across from Anya, near the door.

They waited while the man radioed the other station:

"Home-base, this is Lincoln. We're sending a wounded officer back, plus two civilians. Over."

"Copy that. Expecting three passengers. Confirm. Over."

Clarke listened through the opened door and signed inwardly. They really were the military type to the end, even when a life was at risk.

"Confirming three passengers. Over."

"Alright Transit, you can send them in. Over."

Finally, Lincoln placed the radio back and closed the doors. Madi was already wide-eyed when the doors magically closed, but she let out an audible gasp when the train started to move, slowly at first, until they exited the underground structure.

* * *

They picked up speed once they reached the open air, and Madi began to run around the wagon to stare out the windows. They were traveling on an overpass railway, high above the ground, and Clarke was a bit worried about the probably at least two hundred years old structure. She kept on eye on both Madi and Anya, making sure the wounded woman wasn't taking a nap. She waited until Madi was on the other side of the wagon to ask:

"Your uniform. I haven't seen one like that in a while. You're Brotherhood of Steel, right?"

"Was." Anya simply replied.

"We were near Goodneighbor when we saw the airship exploding. Never got why the Minutemen would blow it up."

"We weren't the friendliest of people with the inhabitants here."

Before Clarke could say anything, Anya continued:

"We weren't. Maxson was a lot of stuff but caring wasn't one of them. Sure, he cared about us, but if you're not us... It was different before when Sarah was still around. Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore. No matter what the others would tell you, we're not Brotherhood of Steel anymore."

Anya then fell into silence, her eyes watching through the window above her, though Clarke doubted she could see much. Clarke was going to retreat to her thoughts as well, but Madi suddenly shouted:

"Clarke, look!"

Clarke stood up to join Madi, who was standing on her knees on the old red leather sit, a big smile on her lips. The train was curving around something, and through the windows, they could see a strange place. High brick walls kept it protected, and everything from giant trees to huge buildings and castles and mountains peaked over the walls. Everything was decorated with more bottles like the one they'd seen at the outpost, but much, much bigger. They even passed a big tree with plushes and article of clothing hanging from the branches.

The train slowed down as they approached a building outside the walls. Madi was jumping excitedly, ready to see it all. Clarke waited until the train had stopped and the doors had opened to pick up Anya. Madi had already jumped outside, ignoring the soldiers who'd rushed in to pick up their wounded comrade. Clarke was pushed aside, and with efficiency, they took Anya and placed her on a stretcher, the blonde complaining all the way. When everyone had cleared the station, Clarke and Madi were alone, except for the few officers watching an eye on them and a woman who walked out of the control panel booth.

"You two are the civilians?" she asked.

"I suppose." Clarke declared.

"Lexa's waiting for you at the entrance, I'll take you to her."

Clarke nodded. She assumed Lexa must have been the one running the place. This station, like the one they've arrived from, was clean and spotless if spotless was ever achievable in the wasteland. Clarke assumed they must have spent quite some time cleaning it up.

The woman was not wearing a Brotherhood of Steel uniform like the others. She wore simple clothes and not armor. She must have been one of the farmers Lincoln mentioned. She walked them out of the building and into a parking lot. Madi jumped down the stairs and would have run straight to the entrance if Clarke hadn't taken her hand. Though most of the dead cars had been moved to the side, some had been used to make barricades, and many armed soldiers were keeping watch behind them. They nodded when they passed them by. Above them appeared what could only be the entrance to whatever this place was. Large brick towers held together the same metal steamer as before, but bigger, with the words 'Nuka World' on it.

When they arrived at the entrance the woman in front of them stopped. She looked around, confused, when she noticed a boy wandering about. He had a heavy black coat with a few holes in them, and a belt wrapped around his shoulder, with small pockets on his chest. However, his shirt had the Nuka World logo on it, and he wore a colorful mask which mimicked a deer's head. The woman addressed him.

"Aden, have you seen Lexa?"

The boy stepped forward in the most military of fashion, then pulled his mask over his face, revealing sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes, with a bright smile on his face.

"She's still busy with the preparations, she asks me to take the guests to Fizztop."

The woman nodded and looked to Clarke:

"Just follow Aden, he'll get you to Lexa."

"Hum.. thanks."

Clarke had no idea whether she really wanted to meet this Lexa, and she absolutely didn't want to walk deeper into the place. While she watched the woman leave, she didn't notice Madi stepping closer to Aden.

"Your mask is awesome!"

Madi's voice brought Clarke back to the matter at hand. Aden was showing off his deer mask.

"Thanks."

"Where did you get it?"

"At the arcade! They have a whole bunch of them! I can show you if you want to!"

Madi quickly turned to Clarke and, as expected, pouted, all puppy eyes and all. Clarke sighed.

"Later, alright? Let's see this Lexa first."

Madi nodded, and so did Aden, who placed his mask on top of his head, and began to guide them through the park.

First, they walked around what seemed to be the recreation of a town. All the buildings on their right had been barricaded, and the one on the left had doors every archway or so.

"Where are we exactly?" Clarke asked.

"This is Nuka-Town USA," Aden explained as if it made any more sense now than it did before. "We've got the market here, and the arcade, too, but my favorite place is definitely Galactic Zone! They have this huge theater where you seat in a rocket ship while you watch the movie and robots bring you food, it's awesome!"

The explanation sure made Madi's eyes sparkle, but Clarke was still on her guard. As they rounded the corner they passed a large archway which led to a small plaza, and to stairs climbing to a large building. A lot of people seemed to be walking in and out, with tools and rubbles. Two power armored people were standing nearby, miniguns at the ready. If there was something Clarke couldn't fault them for, it was their security.

"What's that?" Madi asked, pointing to the building.

"It used to be an attraction but the raiders turned it into a fighting ring. We're cleaning it up right now, to turn it into an inn, I think."

Clarke frowned.

"Raiders? There used to be raiders here?"

Aden nodded.

"Yeah, but we kicked them out! Now it's our place and they won't ever take it back."

Clarke nodded. By the looks of the power they were packing, she believed him completely.

They continued on their way, passing the same barricaded buildings, crowned by red towers which seem to grow out of them like mushrooms. They passed a few people, some in Brotherhood of Steel uniform, some in casual outfits, looking more like farmers, scavengers or traders. They arrived at another arch with three entrances, though two were blocked by wooden planks and makeshifts barricades. Once again, two soldiers were posted on either side of the wall.  
They arrived in a street which was still being cleared out from all the rubbles and junk in the middle. Two metal statues occupied the center of the street, one representing a smiling bottle and the other a smiling cap, both weaving ahead of them. Clarke found them a bit creepy, all covered in dead vines like they were. As they approached, they found the building on the right of the statues emptying quickly. Aden ran there, and Madi followed him. Clarke kept an eye on them but took her time to reach them.

"I can't see her," Aden complained.

All the people exiting wore orange or dark green Brotherhood of Steel uniforms, though some had replaced their standard issue armor with spiked or smooth metal pieces. They all carried weapons, though very few had laser pistols like Anya had carried. Aden approached one of them, a young woman with long brown hair.

"Octavia, have you seen Lexa?"

"She went back to Fizztop, she said she was waiting for guests."

Aden thanked her and pushed past everyone, Madi close on his heels. Clarke had to quicken her pace to keep up with them. As they advanced toward another arch, Aden pointed to the building in their left.

"That's the arcade! It's the best place! If you're bored you can just come here."

Madi nodded as if she already intended to spend the rest of the day there. Clarke looked at the building. True enough, the words Nuka-cade were written in neons about the door.

They walked through the arch and found themselves in a large open plaza. A small pond occupied the center, and on the other side was a giant mountain, with an equally large bottle embedded on the side. A long building seemed to be awkwardly sticking out of the front of the mountain. Even Clarke couldn't help but be impressed. They took the right around the lake, passing many people who were also busy cleaning everything up. The raiders must have left quite a mess.  
Clarke didn't know how much of a mess until they passed in front of a closed off area, at the foot of the mountain. Barricades and spikes were sticking out everywhere, and a small wooden fence had been placed in the middle of them, forbidding anyone from going further along the road. Aden must have noticed them staring as he explained:

"It used to be one of the raiders' headquarters, but we haven't cleaned it up yet, so it's dangerous to go in."

They continued around the pond until they reached the foot of the mountain. A closed metal door had been dug out, but Aden took them to a makeshift elevator instead. Clarke couldn't help but put a hand on Madi's shoulder when the wooden elevator began to tremble and ascend. They reached the top in no time, only to find themselves in what seemed to be private quarters.

A large counter shaped like a rectangle occupied most of the space in the middle of the room. A kitchen area took the space on the left, leaving most of the important things to the right: a small seating area, overlooking the rest of the park, a king size bed placed on a small wooden dais, a desk next to the dais and a power armor rack next to it. Someone was seated at the desk, but Clarke only noticed her when she stood up. She was stunned for a second.

Her eyes found forest green ones, which were staring back at her. Her brown hair was tied behind her back in a braid, pulling her hair away from her face. She had high cheekbones and a slightly squared jaw, and when she finally snapped out of her own trance she smiled welcomely, and it was the most beautiful smile Clarke had ever seen. She wore a jet black Brotherhood of Steel uniform, unlike any Clarke had ever seen before, and she'd replaced her typical armor for a metal one, which seemed to be made out of small wrapping plates. A very dangerous looking knife was attached to her belt.

"So you're the one who brought Anya back."

Madi had to hit Clarke with her elbow to bring her back to reality.

"Hum... yes, it was us."

The woman walked closer, finally entering the sunlight and leaving the artificial light behind. Clarke's heart skipped a beat.

"It's an honor to meet you. My name is Lexa, I'm the one in charge here."

"I'm Clarke and this is Madi. And it was nothing, really. We just happened to walk by."

Lexa nodded and then turned to Aden.

"Aden, why don't you take Madi to the arcade? Show her around a bit?"

Both kids seemed excited by the prospect. Lexa looked at Clarke who seemed hesitant. She didn't really want to leave Madi out of her sight, but it seemed the place was quite secure.

"If you're alright with it, of course," Lexa added.

Instantly, Madi turned to Clarke.

"Please, please, Clarke..."

Clarke sighed. She'd already pushed the tour to the arcade twice, she really didn't have any choice now.

"Fine. But you stay with Aden, and you don't go where it's dangerous."

"Don't worry, Aden knows the park like the back of his hands, they won't get lost."

Lexa fetched in her pocket and found a handful of large metal coins which she handed to Madi.

"Go have fun."

Madi quickly pocketed the coins, curious to see what they were used for, and thanked Lexa even more expressly. Aden pulled his mask over his eyes and they jumped onto the elevator once again, disappearing toward the ground in no time. Lexa smiled and motioned toward the seating area, overlooking the pond.

"Please, take a seat. Would you like something to drink? I'm afraid we mostly have Nuka-cola here, but you get used to it."

"No, thank you."

They sat down in the chairs and before an awkward silence could settle down between them Lexa declared:

"You are welcome to stay if you want to. Our inn isn't operational yet, but we've already organized a room or two in the back."

"Thank you."

"I'm sure you must have a lot of questions."

Clarke nodded.

"What is this place?"

Lexa reclined slightly in her chair, and the wood of the backrest cricked.

"This park was some form of entertainment, from what I gathered. It was all built by the people who made Nuka-cola. Someone told me it was to make even more money, but it seems such a waste of resources."

"And now it belongs to the Brotherhood of Steel," Clake noted.

Lexa sent her a long look as if trying to decipher whether it was a problem or not.

"You're not with the Minutemen, are you?"

Clarke shook her head.

"I deal with them because they're the biggest buyer, like I deal with Goodneighbor or Bunker Hill. I don't have any allegiance to them if that's what you ask."

"Good. We've been running away from them for too long. If they ever come after us again I want us to be ready and we are not ready. Our location needs to stay a secret, for now at least."

"What happened? Anya told me some things on the train."

"What did she say?"

"She said the Minutemen blew you guys' up because you didn't care about the people."

Lexa sighed.

"It's true. If we'd helped the people of the Commonwealth a bit more than we probably wouldn't be there. But Maxson was so focused on his crusade against the Institute, people didn't matter to him anymore."

Lexa crossed her fingers.

"I've been trying to make amend, to help people rebuild something here. I've freed all the slaves, allowed more settlers to come in. I have hope that we can make something viable, where the Brotherhood of Steel and the citizen of the Commonwealth can coexist."

Clarke looked at Lexa longly, while the brunette looked at the park, and the sun passing over it.

"How did you survive? I thought the Minutemen had blown the entire Brotherhood away."

Lexa seemed to consider her words before she answered:

"There were more of us on the ground patrolling than there were in the Prydwen. But all the important players were there. I was on a patrol with Aden and a few other knights. Thank god for that. We lost so many squires in the explosion. The rest of us regrouped, some wanted revenge so they attacked the Castle. The others listened to me. We went on our way, as far away from the Castle as possible. It's much harder to survive when you don't have a place to fall back when necessary. One day, we found the Nuka-World Transit center. We kicked the gunners out to settle there, and when exploring we found a man seating in the station. He was pretending to be wounded, but he just wanted to attract us to Nuka-World, so we could be used as playthings by the raiders."

Lexa paused and crossed her arms.

"This day I made a choice. I went alone to Nuka-World, killed their overboss, and, as agreed upon, I was made the new overboss. I sent the raiders to work, to clean up the park. At night, I took off the barricade to the station door and brought three-fourth of our forces with me. We cleared out the park from the raiders and set the slaves free. There are still a few around here, and we've been hunting them down. We need to keep this place safe above all."

Clarke continued to stare at Lexa. Her concern for the people living here shone through every word she had spoken. Before she could add anything, the sound of the elevator climbing up broke through the silence. The girl Aden had spoken to earlier, Octavia, walked off.

"Everyone is ready, Commander."

"I'll be right there. Any news from Anya?"

"Nyko has extracted the bullet so she should be fine."

"Good to hear."

Lexa stood up, prompting Clarke to do the same.

"I'm sorry I must cut short to our conversation, but we've been preparing an attack on the raiders in the Safari Adventures for weeks and I can't make everyone wait any longer. You're free to leave if you want to, but if you want to explore around, don't go too far from Nuka-town. We have yet to clean up everything."

"Thank you."

Clarke watched as Lexa picked up a machete with a serrated blade from her desk and placed it in the holder on her back. Before she walked onto the elevator, Clarke declared:

"I think we'll stay the night."

When Lexa looked back at her she added:

"If you don't mind."

"Of course not. We'll continue our conversation, then. That way you can tell me how you got your hands on a Pipboy."

Clarke looked at the computer attached to her arm as if she'd forgotten it was even her.

"It doesn't even work anymore."

Lexa smiled.

"Find Raven, next to the car arena. I think she can fix it for you."

Lexa stepped onto the elevator, and Octavia pressed the button, taking them down. Clarke let out a sigh. She had no idea whether staying was a good or bad idea, but what was done was done. She waited a good minute before calling the elevator too and leaving Fizztop Grille.


	2. The Sentinel and the Vault Dweller

**Chapter 2**  
The Sentinel and the Vault Dweller

When Clarke left the elevator, she caught a glimpse of a large group of Brotherhood of Steel members walking toward what she assumed was an exit. She couldn't see Lexa, but she imagined the brunette must have been at the head of the party. She stayed there, staring, until they disappeared from her field of vision. Then, she walked around the pond. She found more people there, cleaning things up, or taking a break. A small stand had been opened with chairs and tables spread in front of it, and people came to buy food and drinks before going back to work.

Clarke followed the pond back to the entrance and made a first stop at the arcade. When she pushed the door open she felt like putting her hands over her ears. The loud sounds coming from the machines, all working at the same time, was deafening. But among those sounds were also children laughter, a whole lot of them. Though the light was soft and kept most of the place in darkness, she could see many children running around, talking animatedly and queuing to play some of the games. A few adults were there too, some playing and some keeping an eye on the children.

After a bit of searching, she found Madi and Aden in one of the adjacent room, playing a game with a few of the other kids. At first glance, it didn't seem to make much sense to Clarke, but after watching a round, she understood. The children were sending water inside a tube which was pushing the bottles upwards. It was a race. She waited until Madi had pushed her bottle to the top to approach.

"Are you having fun?"

Madi's eyes were shining even in the relative darkness of the room.

"This place is awesome!"

A bunch of blue tickets began to be spat out by the machine, and Madi picked them up, stuffing them in one of her pocket, which already had a bunch more of these tickets.

"Aden said with all my tickets I can buy a prize later! Do you want to play?"

Clarke shook her head.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I'll come to pick you up later, I have something to do."

Madi nodded.

"Okay. I'll see you later."

She walked toward another game, Aden behind her, and Clarke was stunned for a minute. Madi didn't seem bothered at all that she was leaving her alone for the day. Clarke wasn't sure if it was because the girl had sharper instinct then her, and knew instantly that the place was safe, or if she should teaching her a bit more about not being too trusting of strange people and strange places.

Clarke exited the arcade and tried to follow Lexa's instructions. She went back to where the market was, but she quickly found herself lost and started to turn around the marketplace, unsure of where she was going. People were taking down a barricade on her right, giving her the full view of what had been hidden on the other side. It looked like a party had gone very wrong, but the decoration was exactly what she expected from a weird raider clan, with mannequins wearing animal masks and cages and colorful streamers hang everywhere.

After continuing on her way, she arrived at the entrance once again, and she knew she'd gone the wrong way, so she continued again. Finally, when she made it to the large construction site she'd seen earlier, she decided to ask for directions. She approached one of the power armored men and asked:

"Excuse me... I'm looking for someone named Raven? Lexa told me she could help me?"

"She's right over there." the man pointed, his voice slightly distorted by the helmet.

She thanked him and he lost his relaxed position, strengthening his grip on his minigun and straightening his position slightly as if he'd returned to his watchful position.

Clarke followed the direction he'd pointed her toward, on the side of the arena. She had to walk around a pile of planks, which they'd probably gotten from dismantling all of the raiders' work. She walked through what must have been some kind of parking, and soon enough, she found a large office hidden in the back. Tables had been placed to form an L, with a terminal placed on the smaller side, and many tools and broken pieces of robots resting on the larger side. A white and gold protectron was standing in the middle, and a young woman was standing in front of it.

"Primary directive," the protectron started, "Protect Nuka-World. Destroy all threats to the guests. Secondary directive: Deliver ice-cold Nuka-cola to the guests."

The woman sighed.

"That's what I thought. Some idiots gave you a nukatron protocol. You're a galactron."

"Am I not equip to deliver ice-cold Nuka-cola?" the galactron asked, as confused as a protectron could be.

"Nope. Alright."

The woman hopped on her chair and began to type on the terminal.

"Let's shut you down and update your protocols."

As she spoke, the protectron shut down, half of its body falling forward, though fortunately, it stayed on its feet. Clarke decided to make this the right moment to approach.

"Excuse me?"

The woman looked up from the terminal.

"Lexa said you could help me."

The woman, Raven, smiled and rolled her chair away from the table, so she could face Clarke.

"You're the one who brought Anya back?"

"News travels fast around here."

Raven shrugged. She was wearing a red mechanic jumpsuit with the name tag 'Walsh' on it. Her left leg was strangely trapped in a power armor frame, and Clarke wondered whether it was intentional. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was all smile.

"I guess I should thank you. Anya's the only one who ever brings me interesting stuff around here. Anyway, Lexa sent you?"

"She said you may be able to fix this?"

She showed the Pipboy on her left wrist, and she swore stars had passed over Raven eyes.

"I've never fixed a Pipboy, but if it has circuits you can bet I can fix it."

She quickly stood up from her chair and took a hold of Clarke's wrist, quickly taking a look at the portable computer. As she did, Clarke noticed a red mark on her neck, as if something had been irritating her skin for so long it had yet to heal.

"I see the problem. I think I can fix it, but it's gonna take a bit of time. Can you stay here the night? I think I'll be done by tomorrow."

"Here, here?"

Raven chuckled.

"No, not here. In the park, I meant. I'll just take it off."

Clarke was about to withdraw her arm but Raven held on too strongly. She picked something up on her table and began to work on the Pipboy's locks.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea... I've heard people saying you can't take these off without taking the arm as well... unless the person's dead..."

Just as she was done talking she heard a clicking sound and felt a weight being lifted off her wrist. It felt so strange. She'd had her Pipboy for such a long time she didn't even remember what it felt not to have one. Her skin there was actually paler than the skin of her hand, which looked kind of weird.

"And here you go. Come to pick it up tomorrow, I should be done by then."

Clarke was still staring at her wrist with shock.

"How did you do that?"

Raven smirked.

"Same electrical system as the shock collars. It's just a bunch of magnets easy to scramble."

At that, Clarke frowned and looked at Raven.

"Shock collars?"

"The only thing the raiders could make and maintain on their own. Everything else they were too lazy. They were collars they put around their slaves' necks. You could still come into the park, but as soon as you tried to walk out..."

Clarke grimaced.

"Yeah, exactly. I knew how to take mine off ages ago, but I didn't want to risk it, with my leg and all, they would have caught me in a matter of minutes."

Clarke frowned once again.

"Wait, you were a slave here?"

"Yep. In charge of maintaining the train and their precious Gauntlet. When Lexa and the Brotherhood arrived I showed them how to take the collars off and make a few more things around here work. Lexa made me the Head of engineering but the others call me Proctor now."

She laughed.

"Me? A Brotherhood of Steel Proctor. At least they know if they don't treat me right I'm not fixing their toys."

Raven rolled back to her terminal, and she plugged the Pipboy to it.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. If I can't get a breakthrough I'll send someone to warn you."

"Thank you."

Clarke walked away, feeling strangely light without her Pipboy.

* * *

Clarke went back to find Madi at the arcade once she was done, and Aden proposed to give them a larger tour of the place. Since they didn't have anything better to do Clarke agreed. Aden took his job very seriously, which was even funnier when he kept his deer mask on for the rest of the day. He explained to them the other zones in the park and what Lexa's plans were. How when they weren't busy chasing raiders most of the knights were still taking care of the bloodworm infestation in Dry Rock Gulch because she wanted to turn the place into a large farming area. He talked about all of their scribes who'd settled in the Galactic Zone, but they sometimes walked across to the World of Refreshment to do more research.

He showed them where most of them lived, the Parlor, because it was the easiest to clean up. It was also where Lexa held the meetings for now, but once the arena was cleaned they would move their beds there. They had a quick dinner at one of the few dining locations still opened, Cappy's cafe. When Clarke tried to pay the woman behind the counter said it had already been paid for, and Clarke was slightly confused. She still left a few caps on the table after they left.  
At the end of the day, he led them back to Fizztop Grille and showed them inside. The place was rather sparse, and Aden explained Lexa had thrown out most of the raider's decoration. Besides a few containers and some workbenches, there was a kitchen which probably didn't work anymore and a few beds had been placed in the middle of the room. Aden explained it was meant for the squires but he and the other squires wanted to be with the other children, so Lexa let them sleep with everyone else.

Madi was absolutely exhausted at the end of the day, and she fell into bed very quickly. She'd won a souvenir toy sloth at the arcade, and she'd passed her arm through its arms and legs, keeping it close. When Clarke came to put her to bed, Madi was already drifting, her eyes fighting to stay open.

"This place is awesome... Can we stay forever?" she asked with all the enthusiasm she could muster.

Clarke sat down beside her on the bed and began to pass her hand through a few locks of hair, pushing them away from the girl's face.

"I don't know. Don't you think Abby and the others are going to be worried if we don't show up?"

"So we go to the vault and we tell them we're going to live here now, and then we come back."

Clarke smiled. Madi's plan seemed too simple.

"Sleep. We'll take about this tomorrow, alright?"

She placed a kiss on Madi's forehead, and it was just what the girl needed to fall asleep. Clarke stood up from the bed and was about to walk to her own, but she didn't feel like sleeping at all. She placed her riffle on the bed, and after a few seconds of reflection, she took off her belt, leaving her pistol in its holster, and placed it on the bed as well. She sent one last look toward Madi to make sure she was asleep and walked out of the room.

* * *

The air was a bit colder now that the sun was fully set, but Nuka-world glowing in the night was quite a sight to behold. Clarke began to look around. Lexa had yet to return, but she assumed it wouldn't be long before the group came back.

There wasn't much to find around here. Lexa didn't leave anything in the open, except an old suit of power armor. It was different from the other ones she'd seen around the park. It was bulkier, and the helmet looked strange, like the face of a monster. This armor had seen better days. It was scared all over, with bullet impacts on the front and back. A large claw mark had taken a big part of the right shoulder, leaving exposed circuitry. Clarke placed her hand on one of the marks, an indentation on the arm. The metal was cold under her fingers, rugged. The paint was falling apart under her skin.

"Careful."

The voice behind her had been faint, but it made her jump anyway. She turned around. Lexa was standing near the elevator platform, holding her arm. She was covered in blood, though Clarke knew for sure some must have been hers. She walked slowly closer to the chair they'd been seating in previously, and she let herself fall there, bleeding on the dirty faded yellow cousins.

"I don't want the armor falling on you, it's a bit heavy to pick up," Lexa warned.

Clarke walked closer to the Commander until she was standing by her chair. She definitely looked like she'd been run over by a Yao Guai before she'd actually killed the beast for good measure.

"Shouldn't you be at the infirmary right now?"

"They have people far more wounded than me to take care of." Lexa simply replied.

Clarke sighed. She didn't know why she knew she should have expected such a reflection coming from the brunette.

"Let me at least clean you up, alright?"

Lexa didn't say anything at first, and Clarke was expecting her to protest. Instead, she stood back up.

"Alright."

She began to take her armor off, heavy pieces of bloodied metal falling one after the other at her feet until she was left in her black uniform. She came to sit on her bed, and Clarke followed her up the dais.

"Do you have anything I can..."

"In the wardrobe."

Indeed, Clarke quickly found pieces of cloth and a bottle of antiseptic in the drawer.

"No stimpack?"

"Others need them more than me."

Clarke held in an 'of course they do'. She sat down behind Lexa, intending to take care of the shoulder wound first, but she found herself hesitating. She couldn't well clean the wound through her uniform.

"Can you take your uniform off?" she asked, her voice slightly trembling.

"The zip is on the back."

Just as Clarke was about to place her slightly trembling hand on the zip, Lexa added with the hint of a smile:

"Don't worry. I have something underneath."

Clarke only nodded and pulled the zip down to Lexa's waist. She was glad to find a dirty tank top underneath. With a bit of help, the brunette managed to take off the top of her uniform, and let it pool on her lap. She had quite a few scars already, and a few more bleeding scratches and cut that Clarke had anticipated. She started to work on a scratch on her shoulder blade, probably from a knife which had grazed her.

"Why haven't you used your armor? It could have saved you from all these cuts." Clarke asked.

"It doesn't work anymore," Lexa explained, her voice barely wavering under the pain of the antiseptic.

"I've never seen an armor like that."

"It's an X-01. Only paladins and high ranking officers are given such strong armors."

"Oh, so you were a Paladin."

"I was a Sentinel, actually. It's the rank above."

Clarke nodded. She had no idea whether she should be impressed or not, but considering Lexa's tone of voice and the slight pride in her posture as she spoke, she decided she was.

Clarke finished cleaning up her shoulder in silence and shifted to take care of the bullet graze on her left arm. She stayed slightly behind Lexa. Under the light of the nearby lamp, she quickly noticed the scar of a claw mark on her shoulder.

"I'm a Vault Dweller." Clarke declared.

Lexa turned her head to look at her.

"You wondered about the Pipboy earlier. I come from a Vault. Vault 81, near Diamond City. My jumpsuit is just so full of holes I've stopped wearing it, I never bothered to ask for another one."

Lexa waited after Clarke had placed the cloth on her arm and the initial pain had passed to ask:

"So how does a Vault Dweller ends up becoming a caravaner?"

"Boredom, I guess. I just wanted to leave and see the world, and trading seemed like the better option. Plus a few things happened and I just... wanted to get away, I guess."

Clarke discarded the bloodied cloth and took a clean on. She shifted to Lexa's side and began to clean a bite mark, probably from an attack dog, on her forearm.

"And Madi?" Lexa asked. "Is she from your Vault too?"

Clarke shook her head.

"I found her three years ago. Her family was killed by raiders, she was the only who survived. I thought I could bring her back to the Vault and they would take care of her there but she wouldn't leave my side, so I took her with me."

Lexa nodded.

"You would do anything for her, I can tell."

Clarke feigned focus as she finished cleaning the bite. She stood up and came to sit down in front of Lexa, to take care of the knife cut on her other forearm.  
"She's like a daughter to me." she declared without looking at Lexa, her attention on the cloth she was dipping in antiseptic. Only when she placed the cloth on Lexa's skin she felt the brunette's hand gently taking her own arm from underneath. Clarke looked up, and her eyes found Lexa's.

"You're under my protection for as long as you'll stay here. Both of you."

"I know. Aden told us about how you've protected everyone."

"I try."

"It must be exhausting."

"If I don't do it, then who else will?"

Clarke left the cloth on Lexa's arm, unsure of where the brunette had received other wounds. As if she could read her mind, Lexa showed her the inside of her left hand, where a pretty deep cut was starting to dry. Clarke said nothing, only took Lexa's hand in hers and began to clean it with the other.

"Aden is my favorite squire."

Lexa's voice cut through the silence, and Clarke looked up at her. Lexa had a small smile dancing on her lips.

"I know I shouldn't say that but it's true. He was the only one I would take on patrols with me. I always thought he'd make an amazing paladin one day."

Her voice broke slightly when she spoke, and she cleared her throat before she continued:

"When I saw the Prydwen exploding my first thought was 'what is going to happen to Aden now?' He's like a little brother to me and I'd do anything for him."

"He seems happy here, so I'd say you've succeeded."

Lexa sighed.

"Everyone is expecting me to become the new Elder, you know? To start leading what's left of the chapter here, and start a new one. I don't want to. I want to help people and protect them, and it was never what the Brotherhood of Steel was about."

She let out a shaky breath. Clarke took the dirty cloth off of Lexa's hand and studied her face for a minute, then the rest of her body. She had a halo of blood on the side of her tank top and Clarke hesitated a moment before she asked:

"Can you hum... raise your shirt?"

Lexa seemed confused for a second before she looked down at her shirt and finally obeyed with a nod. She raised it enough on the side for Clarke to clean the small cut, but not enough for Clarke to see her entire belly, and only a hint of her abs. As she applied the cloth on Lexa's side she declared:

"I walked around the park today, well, this side of the park, and everyone seemed happy. You did a lot of good things here, and if that's not enough for them, then just let them leave."

"I wish it was that simple."

"It is. You just have to accept that you can't help everyone."

Clarke pulled the cloth away, her eyes never leaving Lexa's, and for a moment Lexa forgot to pull down her shirt.

"All clear?" Lexa asked, her voice so low it was almost a whisper.

"Almost."

Clarke came to fetch something from her back pocket. They were so close now their knees were touching, and Clarke knew it would take almost nothing for her to land on the brunette's lap. Quickly, she stabbed Lexa's thigh with the needle and pressed the button. Lexa yelped in surprise and glared at her when she saw the stimpack being pulled out of her body.

"It'll stop the bleeding. You're welcome."

Lexa let out a long sigh and passed her hand on her cheek, only to find blood on her fingers. She frowned. She still had a cut on her cheek that needed cleaning.

"I think you forgot one."

Clarke leaned forward, looking more carefully at the cut on her cheekbone. It mixed so well with the rest of her facial scars she didn't even notice it. She dabbed one last cloth with antiseptic and leaned forward until she could feel Lexa's breath on her cheek. She passed the cloth over the cut, once. She hadn't even noticed she'd placed her other hand on Lexa's thigh for support.

"And here you go," she whispered, so only Lexa could hear.

She pulled away just enough for their nose to brush. Clarke's sapphire eyes found Lexa's emerald ones. She was completely leaning toward Lexa now, one hand still on her tight and the other coming to rest on her shoulder.

"Do you trust me?" Lexa asked, her voice breaking over the silence.

Clarke couldn't find the answer for a moment. How could she trust her when she'd just met her. Sure, she'd given her no reason not to trust her, but still.

"I do."

Lexa closed the gap between them, her lips finding Clarke's softly. She was about to pull away, but Clarke followed her, fueling their kiss and pushing Lexa on her bed. When her leather jacket landed on the ground, she didn't say anything, just started to take her shoes off, without ever breaking their kiss.

* * *

Clarke was woken up by something soft brushing her nose, and a small giggle when she tried to brush it away. After it happened a second time, she groaned and tried to roll away. Something was wrapped so tightly around her she couldn't move. So instead, she opened her eyes, slightly confused. It took her a few seconds of flitting about until her eyes finally opened. Madie was seating beside the bed, her sloth plushy in her hands, both of them barely picking over the edge.

"Madi? What's up?" she asked, her voice still sleepy.

She could feel Lexa shifting behind her, holding her more tightly and moving closer to her.

"I didn't find you in your bed this morning so I thought you might be here." Madi declared in a hushed voice. "Aden and the others are going back to the arcade this morning. I guess you're not coming with me, so I'll see you later!"

Before she could protest, Madi stood up with a happy smile on her face and quickly jumped on the elevator. As it cricked its way down, Lexa finally opened her eyes and shifted to stand on one elbow, her other arm still around Clarke's waist.

"Was that Madi?" she asked, still a bit sleepy.

Clarke sighed and rolled until she was facing Lexa. Lexa stretched and rolled onto her belly, her head resting on her crossed arms. Clarke was glad to see the cut on her shoulder blade had already closed off, leaving only a thin red line.

"She just wanted to warn me before she went back to the arcade."

"And she's okay? With..."

Lexa's words seemed to escape her tongue, so she only gestured at the two of them.

"I guess she is? She somehow knew I'd be here when she didn't find me this morning."

Lexa chuckled.

"She's very perceptive."

"I guess."

"She must have noticed us staring at each other yesterday."

Clarke blushed. She'd completely forgotten about it. She started to study Lexa's body once again, passing her fingers over every scar she could find. The bite mark on her forearm was almost gone too, and the cut in her hand had started to close off too.

"So, doc, am I good to go?" Lexa joked.

"Depends. Are you going to go fight again today?"

"Well, I was supposed to go help with cleaning the arena today, but somehow, I don't really want to anymore."

As she spoke, she leaned toward Clarke, until she could once again press her lips to hers. Clarke kissed her back almost on instinct, and soon enough she found herself on her back, Lexa lightly straddling her. She bent forward, to kiss Clarke once again.

"So, what do you say?" she asked between kisses. "Just you and me? All day?"

Clarke really wanted to say yes, but she knew she had other things to do.

"I wish I could."

Her hands wrapped around Lexa, fingers dancing on her scarred skin.

"But I have to go back to the Vault. They'll be waiting for me. They'll start to worry."

Lexa still wouldn't listen.

"It can wait. You can just write them a letter. I'll find someone to deliver it, I promise. Stay with me."

Clarke was about to protest, but Lexa started to nibble at her ear. Lexa was probably right. It could wait.

* * *

A/N: And that was part 2, I hope you enjoyed it! I wanted to keep this story short so I could post it before going on holidays, but I really want to write more of this AU if I can. Anyway, once again, I hope you enjoyed and have a nice week!


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